


Fire and Ice

by images_words



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Childhood Trauma, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Gen, Genderfluid Character, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Half Deaf Zuko, Half blind Zuko, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Jet (Avatar) Lives, Nonbender Zuko (Avatar), Not Canon Compliant, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Sibling Love, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Water Tribe Zuko (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar) Is An Asshole, Zhao is a creep, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, dadkoda, ozai deserves to die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24156232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/images_words/pseuds/images_words
Summary: When the recently widowed Hakoda finds an 8-year-old boy nearly frozen to death in a cave, he knows he can't just leave him there.He has no idea of the chaos he's just invited into his life.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 105
Kudos: 1278





	1. Chapter 1

Hakoda knew it had been foolish to go out. He had known damn well that there was a storm coming. And yet he had still insisted.   


He wasn't sure why. Maybe he needed some time away from the kids. Maybe he felt like he had something to prove, like he needed to show his tribe that losing Kya hadn't made him weak. Or maybe he'd just never quite outgrown that reckless streak that had landed him in plenty of similar situations when he was younger.   


He wondered why the motivations of Past Hakoda mattered so much to him right now. Past Hakoda was a dick. He was the reason Present Hakoda was in this mess, and the reason Future Hakoda may very well end up Dead Hakoda.   


Hakoda sighed. He always knew his restlessness was reaching dangerous levels when he started thinking of himself in the third person. Not that there was anything he could do about it. He was snowed in until further notice, trapped in a cave that wasn't actually all that far from his village. But he couldn't risk traveling in this weather; he'd freeze to death before he made it halfway there.  


For all he knew, he could be trapped in the cave for days, and he was incredibly glad that, even in his rush to leave, he hadn't forgotten to pack the right supplies for a week-long hunting trip.   


(He hadn't really expected to be gone that long, but clearly, one could never be too prepared.)  


He made quick work of sealing himself in, blocking off the cave's entrance with a wall of snow.   


As he got to work building a fire, he found himself thinking of Bato. He hoped he wouldn't try to come looking for him. He'd only end up getting himself killed, and Hakoda didn't think he could live with that.  


He quickly shrugged off his worries. Of the two of them, Bato had always been the responsible one. He wouldn't do something so reckless.  


He grinned as the fire sprang to life. There was always something so satisfying about successfully building a fire. But the smile faded as he caught sight of something - no, some _one_ \- huddled in the corner.   


As he drew closer, he saw that it was a boy, about Sokka's age. He was hardly moving, and at first Hakoda worried that he was dead. But then he saw the shallow rise and fall of the boy's chest. He was alive, but just barely.   


The poor thing was freezing, his skin ice-cold. Hakoda wasn't sure he wanted to know how long the kid had been out here. He certainly wasn't dressed properly; not surprising, seeing as he was clearly Fire Nation. If his pale skin and jet-black hair didn't give it away, his clothes certainly did.  


Regardless of where he came from, he was still a child who needed help. A child covered in burn scars, Hakoda realized, as he scooped him up to carry him closer to the fire. There was a bandage over his left eye, and he quickly got to work on changing it; who knew how long he'd been wearing those same bandages.   


The sight of the burn underneath made Hakoda cringe sympathetically. The boy would almost certainly lose the eye.  


Once he had changed the child's bandages, he wrapped him in a blanket and held him in his arms. As he drifted off to sleep, he hoped he'd found the boy soon enough. He didn't want to wake up to find himself holding a corpse.


	2. Chapter 2

When Zuko woke up, he found himself in the arms of a man he didn't recognize, beside a fire that definitely hadn't been there before.  


After a moment of internal debate, he decided to wake the sleeping man beside him, hoping to at least find out who he was. He shook the man gently.  


The man opened his eyes slowly. He smiled softly when he saw Zuko. "I knew you'd be alright. You're strong, I can tell." He sat up. "What's your name, son?"  


"Zuko."  


"Nice to meet you, Zuko. I'm Hakoda." He smiled. It was a warm, kind smile, and something about it reminded Zuko of his uncle.  


Hakoda looked nothing like Uncle Iroh, of course. He was much taller, and very muscular, and he had brown skin and brown hair and eyes the color of the ocean. He looked strong, like a warrior, but also kind. Like... well, like an uncle. That was why Zuko was reminded of Uncle Iroh, he realized. Both men had that same kindness in their eyes.  


"Do you remember how you got here, Zuko?"  


Zuko nodded. "My mom and uncle brought me here to protect me from my dad... they dropped me off, they told me they couldn't come to the village with me because people might misunderstand, 'cause they're Fire Nation, and 'cause my uncle is a General, or at least he used to be... they told me how to get there, but I forgot... an' I got lost."  


Hakoda smiled kindly. "Well, when this storm is over, I'll take you back to my village."  


As the storm raged on outside, Zuko grew excited, imagining what the Water Tribe village would be like.


	3. Chapter 3

Bato was little more than a bundle of anxiety stuffed in a parka by this point. Hakoda had been gone for nearly 5 days, and he was really started to wonder if he was even alive. If he didn't come back today, he decided, he would lead out a search party.  


Just then, he noticed a figure in the distance. On a hunch, he started moving towards the figure. Upon confirming that it was, in fact, Hakoda, he broke into a sprint. "Hakoda!"  


Hakoda grinned. "Bato!" He pulled Bato into a hug. "Sorry I was gone so long. I got caught in that storm. Had to take shelter in a cave."  


"I'm just glad you're safe. I-" The rest of the sentence died in his throat as he noticed the small, black-haired boy standing a few feet behind Hakoda, just staring up at him with a slanted golden eye - yes, only one eye, the other was hidden under layers of bandages. "...Hakoda? Are you aware that you've been followed?"  


"Hmm?" Hakoda followed his gaze. "Oh." He laughed and bent down to pick up the boy, resting the child on his hip. "Yeah, I found this kid hiding out in the cave."  


Bato sighed. "Of course you did."  


"His name is Zuko."  


"Of course it is. Hakoda, I don't care what his name is, why is he _here_?!"  


"Well, I couldn't just leave him there to freeze to death!"  


Bato sighed, giving him the long-suffering look that he had long since perfected. One had to be a master of that look if one was going to be Hakoda's best friend. " _Hakoda_."  


"He came here - well, he was brought here - seeking asylum from his father.... the Fire Lord."  


"So what you're telling me is...."  


"I accidentally adopted the Fire Prince."  


" _....of course you did._ "


	4. Chapter 4

Sokka woke up to the sound of someone crying. He frowned, crawling over to Zuko. "What's wrong?"  


"I miss Dad and Bato..." Zuko sniffled.  


Sokka sighed. "So do I."  


Hakoda and Bato had left to fight just a week ago. Sokka and Zuko had wanted to go with them - after being with the tribe only a few months, Zuko had already become one of them - but they were too young.  


Sokka pulled back Zuko's covers, crawling into bed beside him and pulling the smaller boy closer. Zuko snuggled up to him.  


"Sokka?"  


"Hmm?"  


"When will they be back?"  


"....I don't know, Zuko."  


Zuko looked up at him. "They will be back, right?"  


Sokka forced himself to smile. Despite technically being a couple months younger than Zuko, he had quickly taken on the role of big brother for the Fire Nation boy, and he knew he had to be strong for him. "Of course they will, Z. They'll be back. Dad always comes back."  


"...but what if they don't?"  


"They will," Sokka repeated, trying to convince himself as much as Zuko. "Dad's like a boomerang. He always comes back. And he never goes anywhere without Bato, so of course they're gonna come back together."  


"He went without Bato the day he found me."  


"Well, that was... that was just a hunting trip, it's different." He gently stroked Zuko's hair. "They're gonna come back. I promise." He sent up a silent prayer to the Moon Spirit that he wouldn't have to break that promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a short one, sorry about that!  
> As you can probably tell, the time between chapters is not at all consistent, they'll probably be meeting Aang in the next one! These first few chapters were just a bit of introduction/backstory.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things I want to put here! First, Zuko is partially deaf (and likely has quite a bit of water in his ears for the duration of this chapter), hence the lapses in his hearing. Also, just a small disclaimer, a lot of the dialogue this chapter is directly from the show!

Zuko wasn't sure what Sokka and Katara were arguing about. Something to do with fish. Or something. However, he most certainly noticed when a collision with a chunk of ice sent them flying out of the boat.

Katara and Sokka landed on the ice. Zuko wasn't so lucky. Sokka reached out to him, pulling him out of the water.

"You alright?"

Zuko glared at him, wringing the water out of his hair. "What the _fuck_ , Sokka?"

"It was Katara's fault, not mine! Leave it to a girl to screw things up."

Zuko just shivered and glared harder.

Katara, however, wasn't about to let it go so easily. 

"You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained- I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" 

Behind her, an iceberg started to crack. Zuko considered saying something, but... no, this could be fun. He'd love to see Sokka get soaked, if he was being completely honest. Which he was. All the time. He was borderline incapable of lying. Which wasn't always a good thing. He laid back on the ice, trying to tune out the yelling. 

He realized too late that Sokka getting soaked was going to involve him and Katara getting soaked as well. He realized this just as the iceberg came crashing down, launching their little ice raft across the water and thoroughly splashing all three of them in the process.

Any thoughts he might have had about yelling at either of them, however, quickly vanished when he noticed that the water was... glowing? 

A huge, glowing iceberg rose up out of the water. Zuko instinctively reached for his swords, though he doubted they would do much good. 

Then he noticed that there appeared to be a _person_ inside the iceberg. A rather small person - a child, maybe? - but a person nonetheless. Before he knew what was happening, Katara and Sokka were running towards the iceberg, and he found himself following them. The next thing he knew, it cracked right down the middle, sending a beam of light up into the sky.

The person - a boy - climbed out of the iceberg. And immediately collapsed. Katara ran to catch him as he fell. Sokka joined them, but Zuko hung back. 

He saw the boy stand up. And then he heard... something. The boy scrambled up the side of the iceberg, and when Zuko followed his siblings around it, he saw what looked like....

_A Sky Bison._

He gasped softly as he stared at the supposedly extinct creature, and the boy, who... of course. He was an airbender. 

"What is that thing?" Sokka asked.

"This is Appa. My flying bison."

"Right. And this is Katara, my flying sister."

"It's true," Zuko said softly, but no one seemed to hear him. Or maybe he just couldn't hear their response. They were talking again, Zuko could see Sokka's lips moving, but could only barely hear anything. 

Then, "the paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. And that's our other brother, Zuko. You never told us your name." 

The boy was about to respond, but then he sneezed, blasting himself several feet into the air. Zuko couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm Aang," said the boy once he'd landed.

Katara gasped. "You're an airbender!" 

"Of course he is," Zuko cut in. "It took me a minute to recognize it, but those tattoos are the mark of an airbending master. And the bison really can fly."

Aang grinned at him. "Thank you- um, what was your name again?"

"Zuko."

"Isn't that a Fire Nation name?"

"Yes."

"Cool! Where'd you get all those scars?"

Zuko started to say something, but Katara swooped in, intent on preventing her brother from traumatizing this child with stories of being used as target practice by his own father. 

"Hey, Aang, we're kinda... stuck." She shot a glare at Sokka. "Do you think Appa could give us a lift home?"

Aang nodded. "Sure! Hop on!"

As they all climbed up onto the bison's back, Zuko came to a realization: this boy may very well be the Avatar. And he might not even know it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to everyone who I told that Zuko is "cis but doesn't care about gender"... I lied.
> 
> Anyway he's a genderfluid icon.

"So... when you said 'leave it to a girl to screw things up'...."

Sokka groaned. "And I thought I'd escaped the chance of you bringing it up. Silly me."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's just that, you know, Katara finds that offensive and sexist, and frankly, so do I."

Aang was becoming more confused about Zuko by the minute. He turned to Katara. "I thought you said Zuko was your brother?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I mean..." he gestured to the conversation that was going on between Zuko and Sokka. 

"Zuko, sometimes I think you're only a girl when it's convenient."

"First of all, I am a _woman._ Which reminds me... I'm older than you. You might have been the 'big brother' when we were 13 and I needed you to be, but with dad gone, _I'm_ the head of this household."

Katara shrugged. "Zuko's only a woman sometimes. You get used to it." 

Aang nodded. "So... what pronouns does Zuko use? Does it... change?"

"Nah. We just use he/him all the time. He doesn't mind."

"Okay." Aang turned his attention back to the brewing fight between Sokka and Zuko. 

"I don't see how you could possibly be head of the household, Dad left _me_ in charge!"

"No he didn't! He said 'Sokka, look out for Katara and Zuko for me.' That in no way equates to putting you in charge!"

"Yeah, well you can't possibly be in charge, you're not even his real son!"

Zuko took a step back, looking as if he'd been slapped. Katara immediately stood, wrapping an arm around him and glaring at Sokka. 

"Sokka, why would you say something like that?! Zuko is our brother!"

"Not biologically!"

"What happened to 'tribe is family'? And don't start with that 'he's not really Water Tribe' bullshit, you know damn well he became one of us when Dad adopted him."

"Look, I didn't mean it like that, I just-" 

"It doesn't matter what you _meant._ Dad would be disappointed in you." 

It was then that Aang noticed that Zuko was crying. Sokka seemed to notice it too.

"Oh, Zuko... you know I didn't mean it. I was just trying to win the fight.. I shouldn't have said that. You're family. You're my brother."

Zuko smiled weakly. "Really?"

"Of course. I- I don't know why I said that. And you can be in charge if you want." He pulled Zuko into a hug. 

Zuko laughed weakly. "Hey, I never said I _wanted_ it."

Aang smiled softly, watching them. But the moment was over almost as soon as it started.

"Guys?" Katara called out. "I think you should come see this... there's a Fire Nation ship down there, and I think it's following us."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for (very vague) mentions of CSA in this chapter

"Zuko. What are you doing?" Katara asked sternly. 

As far as Sokka could tell, it was pretty obvious what Zuko was doing: he was leaning over the edge of the saddle of a giant flying bison, right on top of a Fire Nation ship, and if he wasn't careful, he was going to fall.

"I'm trying to figure out how many people are on that ship, I might be able to take 'em."

Katara grabbed Zuko's collar, pulling him away from his very dangerous lookout spot. "Regardless of how many people are on board, you are not going down there! And you're _definitely_ not going down there _alone_."

Sokka didn't like the sound of that. "You know, I'm in favor of not going down there at all." 

Zuko had leaned back over the edge of the saddle. But within a few minutes he came back up to relative safety - with some assistance from Katara - looking even paler than usual. 

Sokka frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I... recognize the captain. He was - is, I guess - a friend of my- of the Fire Lord's. His name is Zhao, and I have a rather... unpleasant history with him. Well... unpleasant for _me_ , at least. He always seemed to be enjoying himself." He grimaced. 

Katara looked like she might be sick. "You mean he-"

"Yeah."

"But you were-"

"A kid. Yeah. He's the worst kind of person." 

"You think you'll be okay... facing him?"

"Okay? Katara, I've been waiting 8 years to take the fucker out." Zuko drew his swords.

Sokka decided to step in then. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. No one is fighting anyone! I agree, he's a vile human being, but going down there would be an unnecessary risk! Especially if he might recognize you!" 

Zuko grinned, pulling a blue theater mask out of his bag. "Ah, but he won't recognize me." 

"Wh- where did you even get that?!"

"Dad sent it. Remember when he sent us those letters from the Earth Kingdom?"

Sokka grabbed the mask from him. "Creepy-ass mask or not, you're not going down there. We are not starting any fights!"

"Um... I think _they're_ about to start the fight," Aang called over his shoulder. "They're loading catapults."

Sokka cursed under his breath. Zuko snatched his mask back and, in his typical fashion, started barking orders.

""Aang, take us in! Sokka, you're with me, we're boarding them!"

Aang brought Appa in closer, and Sokka wondered if the kid was just a pushover or if it was Zuko and his... 'commanding presence,' as Gran-Gran called it. Either way, it was too late to turn back now.

Zuko put on the mask, tied his hair up into a ponytail, and shed his heavy parka, as did Sokka. The parkas were fine for hunting, but in a fight, they could be quite cumbersome - not to mention hot, even in the South Pole. 

As soon as they were close enough, they dropped down onto the deck of the ship. Sokka was armed with his boomerang and club, Zuko with his usual dual dao.

Sokka was a good fighter. He was well-rounded in terms of weapons. He could use just about anything - although the boomerang was a personal favorite - and do some serious damage. But he wasn't quite the master of any of them. That was fine with him. Better to be able to use whatever happened to be on hand than to be the master of only one thing.

But that didn't stop him from being the tiniest bit jealous of Zuko when he watched him fight.

Zuko in battle was a force to be reckoned with, quick on his feet and even quicker with his hands. His blades swung so fast they were nearly invisible, and only the sound of them cutting through the air could tell you what direction they were coming from. 

But even with their combined skill, there were only two of them and probably two dozen Fire Nation soldiers on board the ship. They were seriously outnumbered. And now they were surrounded. 

"Drop your weapons!"

Even without being able to see his face, Sokka could tell that his brother was about to do something stupid. 

" _No._ "

The captain - Zhao - looked mildly surprised at that. "No?"

"That's right. I said no. See, my brother and I don't answer to you."

"Zuko...." Sokka warned in a low voice. They didn't have time for Zuko's rebellious streak to come out right now. 

Except this wasn't just the rebellious Zuko that Sokka was all too familiar with. 

This was a vengeful, angry Zuko. And Sokka wasn't sure he'd be able to talk him down. 

Then, all at once, the ship started... rising?

It only took Sokka a minute to recognize that feeling. The feeling of a huge wave coming up under the ship. Except... the sea was calm.

He looked up and immediately understood. He'd never been quite so grateful as he was now for his sister's freaky magic water.

And then the water froze around the ship. Sokka had never seen her do _that_ before.

A rope came down, and Sokka grabbed onto it. "Grab on, Zuko!"

"But-"

"Not now! I know you want revenge. I get it. But not right now." He sighed. "Please."

Zuko grabbed onto the rope, and they were pulled up. 

Once they were safely in the saddle, Sokka turned to Katara. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I didn't either! But I figured it couldn't hurt to try..."

"She had help," Aang said softly. 

"Help? From who?"

Aang sighed. "From me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know Aang technically shouldn't be able to waterbend at all yet, but you know what, fuck canon.


	8. Chapter 8

"I- what? I thought you were an airbender!"

"I am."

"But- you just said you-"

Zuko placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Quiet. Let him talk." 

Aang took in a deep breath. "As Zuko has apparently figured out... I'm the Avatar." 

Zuko nodded. "I thought you might be. I- I hoped you were." He took off his mask. He went to one knee, bowing before the boy. "Avatar Aang, it is an honor to meet you." 

"I- um- please, stand. I... I don't deserve this. I'm here because I ran away 100 years ago... because I was a coward."

Zuko shook his head. "You were a _child._ And you were scared. There's no shame in that." 

Aang smiled softly at that. Zuko had a strange air about him. He seemed... almost noble. "Thank you, Zuko." 

"Um... guys? I... I hate to interrupt, but... we can't go home," Katara said softly. 

Sokka looked up. "What? What do you mean, we can't go home?"

"I mean... they know I'm a waterbender, and they know we have Zuko. And they might know we have the Avatar. And that ice won't last forever. They're going to come after us. If we go home... we'll be putting the entire village at risk. I can't do that."

Zuko stood up. "I agree. It's too dangerous."

"Then... where do we go?"

"The North Pole," Katara said. "Aang and I both need to learn waterbending. That's the only place we have a chance at finding a teacher."

Zuko nodded. "North Pole it is... assuming Aang and Sokka agree."

"I want to learn waterbending," Aang said. 

"I... can't think of a better idea."

"Then it's settled. We're going to the North Pole."

**** 

"So... what's up with Zuko?" Aang asked. 

Katara laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Is he always so... formal? I mean... he _bowed_ to me."

She shrugged. "He's a product of his upbringing is all."

"What makes him so different from you or Sokka? I mean... you're all the Chief's kids. Is it because he's the oldest?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot that you didn't know... Zuko was born a prince. He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. He... he wasn't safe there, so he was brought to the South Pole, where he was found by our dad." 

"Oh."

"He's one of us, though."

"Is he a firebender?"

"No."

"Oh. I... kind of hoped he was. Maybe he could've taught me."

"Well, I'm sure we'll find someone eventually." She smiled. 

"Yeah... eventually."


End file.
